Military Murder

In June 1993, 16-year old Christina Menzies was out and about like a typical teenager. Earlier in the day she attended a fair on Gutersloh RAF, Germany. Later in the evening, she ended the night at Club 47 – a club located on the base. But this was the last time she was seen alive.  Christina’s remains were later found 10 km from the base. A British soldier was arrested and tried for her murder, b...

In August 2007, Specialist Kamisha Block’s family was told that their 20-year-old daughter had died in Iraq as a result of friendly fire – one shot to the chest. The family was floored. They didn’t quite understand what that meant and they wanted answers. But Kamisha would give them a sign. When Kamisha’s mom, Jane, arrived at the funeral home to see her daughter one last time, she noticed a bulle...

This is an update to the previous coverage of these cases. Previously, Margot discusses the disappearance of Vanessa Guillen and Gregory Morales - two Fort Hood soldiers - whose disappearances do not appear to be related. In this episode - Margot provides a significant update on BOTH cases. The updates in this episode are discussed in chronological order.    But just to recap – the remains of Greg...

In the Spring of 2000, the Thackers, Holli & Tracy decided to call it quits on their marriage. Tracy Thacker, a Marine veteran filed for divorce. He noted irreconcilable differences and the fact that a paternity test revealed he was not Maylyn Thacker’s father.    A few months later after weeks of fighting with his wife, Holli, Tracy did the unthinkable. After a fight with his wife over custody is...

On Memorial Day Weekend 2020, Specialist Enrique Roman-Martinez and 7 other soldiers from Fort Bragg, North Carolina decided to take a break for the long weekend. They hopped on a ferry and headed towards Cape Lookout National Seashore as a group of 8, but only 7 returned. What happened to Specialist Roman-Martinez who seemingly walked away from the group at midnight, never to return to his tent? ...

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd walked into Cup Foods Store in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to buy cigarettes. He paid and walked out of the store. The store clerk believed the $20 bill Floyd used was counterfeit, so at 8pm he called the police. This is something Cup Foods employees had done a dozen times when they received what they believed to be counterfeit money.    Officers Thomas Lane and J. Alexan...

This is Part 2 of a 2-part series on the murder of Barry Winchell. I highly recommend listening to Part 1 before continuing with this episode.    In 1999, 21-year old Barry Winchell was a part of the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell. In March, he began dating a transgender woman named Calpernia Addams. Although he met her at a gay club after Barry’s roommate, Justin Fisher, invited a group...

In 1999, 21-year old Barry Winchell was part of the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He planned to make the military a career. Specifically, he wanted to go to Warrant Officer school and eventually become a helicopter pilot. In March 1999, he began dating Calpernia Addams, a transgender woman who was preoperative. To many, this is not a big deal, but to the military during the “...

Significant UPDATES have occurred since the recording of this episode. Please listen here first, then go listen to Ep37 for the update. ----- On April 22, 2020, 20-year old Private First Class Vanessa Guillen was last seen on Fort Hood in a parking lot in front of the building where she worked. Vanessa left behind her car keys (and her car), her room key, and her ID card. Vanessa’s phone has not b...

Julie & Parker Schenecker appeared to be the perfect military couple. He was an Army Colonel, and Julie was an Army veteran turned stay at home mom to their two children. By 2011, the family was stationed at MacDill AFB, Florida and they lived in an upper middle-class neighborhood with their teenaged kids. Their daughter Calyx was 16-years old, and their son, Beau, was 13-years old.  But behind th...

Julie & Parker Schenecker appeared to be the perfect military couple. He was an Army Colonel, and Julie was an Army veteran turned stay at home mom to their two children. By 2011, the family was stationed at MacDill AFB, Florida and they lived in an upper middle-class neighborhood with their teenage kids. Their daughter Calyx was 16-years old, and their son, Beau, was 13-years old.  Behind the faç...

Mark “Jimmy” Essex joined the Navy at the advice of his father because it was the least “racist.” But after joining, Jimmy realized racism was everywhere and he became disillusioned as a young black sailor. After he was discharged from the Navy, he got more and more angry at the perceived racism in the country (during the 70's), so he decided to take matters in his own hands and he began his own p...

April is Month of the Military Child! And today, Margot honors those who sacrifice so much every day, military dependents!  Today’s case is the tragic story of Air Force Sergeant Nicole Dudley, who deployed when her toddler, Evan Dudley, was only 21-months old. She had the perfect plan for Evan, he’d stay with his Godmother, and on occasion, a different Air Force family would take Evan for a few h...

On February 5, 1981, Robert Redford and Barbara Levoy were driving from California to Nevada to go to Robert’s first duty station, Nellis AFB. Along the way, their car broke down and a trucker stopped to give them a ride. Later, Robert was found dead on the side of the road, and for two years, Barbara was listed as a missing person.  Investigators would get a lead in the case a few years later whe...

In 2007, Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach made a sexual assault allegation against her supervisor, Corporal Cesar Laurean. But NCIS didn’t take her allegation serious. Corporal Laurean was a model Marine after all, and Lance Corporal Lauterbach was a problem child. But when she turned up pregnant and it was possibly Corporal Laurean’s baby, Lance Corporal Lauterbach vanished a month before her baby...

You thought you heard it all when you listened to Margot’s 3-part series on BTK, but today, she is bringing you BTK himself. In his own words. Listen to this BONUS episode if you want to know how a killer sounds. Listen to this BONUS episode if you want to hear BTK describe his crimes to District Judge Waller in 2005. Dennis Rader recounts the horrific crimes with the ease of a man teaching you ho...

This is Part 3 of a 3-part series on Dennis Rader (a.k.a. BTK – the serial killer). In this episode, Margot explores the murders of Marine Hedge, Vicki Wegerle, and Dolores Davis. She further digs into the capture of the Wichita monster that terrorized women, men, and children alike. Margot’s main source of information for this episode was John Douglas’s 2007 book, “Inside the Mind of BTK: The Tru...

This is Part 2 of a 3-part series on Dennis Rader (a.k.a. BTK – the serial killer). In this episode, Margot explores the investigation of the Otero family quadruple murder, the murder of Katheryn Bright, and the attack on Kevin Bright, the murder of Shirley Vian, and the murder of Nancy Fox. Margot’s main source of information for this episode was John Douglas’s 2007 book, “Inside the Mind of BTK:...

This is Part 1 of a 3-part series on Dennis Rader (a.k.a. BTK – the serial killer). In this episode, Margot explores Dennis Rader’s childhood, his 4-years in the Air Force, his initial failed attempts at kidnapping women, and the 1974 Otero Family Murders. Margot’s main source of information for this episode was John Douglas’s 2007 book, “Inside the Mind of BTK: The True Story Behind the Thirty-Ye...

In 2014, Catherine Walker, an Army military spouse was murdered while she slept in her on base house. Earlier that week, someone broke into her car and stole her husband’s wallet. Cathy had been paranoid since the break-in. But was the monster who killed her a stranger, or was it someone closer to home? Dig in with Margot as she takes you through a legal case that lasted over five years to be reso...

In February 2007, a woman stalked and chased 30-year old Air Force Captain Colleen Shipman from the Orlando International Airport to her remote parking area. Then at the car, the woman pleaded for help, and Colleen opened her window. It was then that the woman’s intentions became clear – the woman was there to attack Colleen. Colleen was quick on her feet and escaped the perpetrator, thinking she...

In December 1995, Adrianne Jones, a 16-year old high school student, was found brutally murdered in the town of Grand Prairie, Texas. The investigation was extensive and included many more witnesses than is typically necessary for older victims. Four suspects quickly rose to the top of the list, but one by one, detectives were able to take each suspect off the list, until the case went cold.   The...

Four disgruntled Fort Stewart Army soldiers plotted to assassinate the President, overthrow the government, poison the state apple orchard, bomb a nearby dam, and take over the Fort Stewart ammunition control point. But before they could take on their hefty goals, they thought they had a snitch among their militia ranks. So, what does a militia do when they have a mole in their midst? Dig in with...

In 1986, Kathleen Lipscomb was found naked and dead on the side of the road on the outskirts of San Antonio, Texas. But who killed her? The investigation would reveal that sometimes shiny, clean cut, high ranking military members who look like they could do no wrong – actually do wrong and ALMOST get away with it. Dig in with Margot, as she discusses the murder of Air Force wife, Kathleen Lipscomb...

“If I can’t have her, no one can.” Those were the words spoken by Senior Airman Jeromy Willis in 1993, after he was arrested after attempting to kill his wife twice, hunting her down to the military legal office (while he was still a free man), shooting her down, and then making his debut on America’s Most Wanted after being on the run for over two weeks. Dig in with Margot, as she discusses the t...